YouCat

About thirty years ago, Pope John Paul II tasked Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who is now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) to coordinate the world’s bishops in producing a book that would answer modern questions about the Catholic faith. In 1992, the Catechism of the Catholic was published, and it was published in every language to help make the faith more accessible. It offers a wonderful summary of what the Catholic Church believes and teaches – which is why I often quote it in the different things I write or in the talks I am invited to share.

Then , in preparation for World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, the Church published the Catechism in a new language: that of young people in a handy yellow book called YouCat (the Youth Catechism.) YouCat is Written on the same four pillars as the full Catechism, found in Acts 2:42:

The teaching of the Apostles (Creed)

The Breaking of the Bread (Sacraments)

Communal (or moral) living

Prayer

YouCat seeks to bring the insight of faith into the day to day life of Catholic young people. Pope Benedict wrote a beautiful introduction to YouCat, in which he spoke very clearly of what he wanted young people to do with YouCat:

I invite you: Study this Catechism! That is my heartfelt desire.

This Catechism was not written to please you. It will not make life easy for you, because it demands of you a new life. It places before you the Gospel message as the “pearl of great value” (Mt 13:46) for which you must give everything. So I beg you: Study this Catechism with passion and perseverance. Make a sacrifice of your time for it! Study it in the quiet of your room; read it with a friend; form study groups and networks; share with each other on the Internet. By all means continue to talk with each other about your faith.

You need to know what you believe. You need to know your faith with that same precision with which an IT specialist knows the inner workings of a computer. You need to understand it like a good musician knows the piece he is playing. Yes, you need to be more deeply rooted in the faith than the generation of your parents so that you can engage the challenges and temptations of this time with strength and determination. You need God’s help if your faith is not going to dry up like a dewdrop in the sun, if you want to resist the blandishments of consumerism, if your love is not to drown in pornography, if you are not going to betray the weak and leave the vulnerable helpless.

A few years ago, I took advantage of this great resource and put together a series of posts going through the main topics found in the index of YouCat for further reflection: